Creasing and delivery means for envelope forming machine



United States Patent Inventor Calvin L. Harper 3 Timberwood Court, Fort Thomas, Kentucky 41075 Appl. No. 843,277 Filed June 30, 1969 Continuation of Ser. No.

674,942, Oct. 12, 1967, abandoned. Patented Nov. 3, 1970 CREASING AND DELIVERY MEANS FOR ENVELOPE FORMING MACHINE 5 Claims, 6 Drawing Figs.

11.8. CI. 93/62 B311) 21/02 Field of Search 93/62, 61A, 61

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 6/1959 Novick l/1964 Novick [/1965 Sauerman FOREIGN PATENTS 11/1949 Great Britain Primary Examiner-Bernard Stickney Attorney-Burton Perlman ABSTRACT: Novel rotary means is provided for rapid creasing and delivery of envelopes in a wide range envelope forming machine. The machine may be operated alternatively to deliver finished envelopes with flaps folded or extended Patented Nov. 3 1970 3,537,362

'INVL'N'IHR. CALVIN F. HARPER ATTORNEY.

Paten ted Nov. 3, 1970 I i- CALVIN E HARPER v ATTORNEY.

INVENTOR.

Patented Nomi 1970 3,537,362

Sheet 4 of 4 o Y J I a INVENTOR. E- 5 i ATTORNEY.

CREASING AND DELIVERY MEANS FOR ENVELOPE FORMING MACHINE To those engaged in the envelope manufacturing business it is well known that the term wide range refers to a particular figuration, and discharges from the end a completely formed envelope. Involved in such machine in the course of forming the completed envelope are components for feeding the blanks into the machine; applying adhesive; drying the adhesive; scoring; the making of various folds and creases; moving blanks and partially formed envelopes from station to station within the machine; and delivering formed envelopes from the machine. Such machines may or may not include elements to perform a patching operation, by which in this trade is meant covering an aperture in the face of the envelope with a transparent piece of material through which an address may be read in the finished envelope.

In such machines the last operation performed to complete the envelope is scoring and folding, or creasing, of the seal flap. After this operation is performed, the completed envelope is delivered from the machine. In the conventional wide range machine, creasing of the seal flap occurs by delivering an otherwise completed envelope to a pair of seal flap pushers, the mode of operation of which is in reciprocating fashion. Such pushers urge the envelopetoward a pair of creasing rolls, whereupon the previously scored seal flap is folded against the body of the envelope. Because the creasing rolls in the conventional wide range envelope forming machine tend to force air towards the closed bottom of the envelope, it is necessary that one of the creasing rolls be moved away from the other as each'envelopepasses therethrough, for otherwise, the envelope being formed might be damaged by compression of the air within the envelope caused by pressure ,of the creasing rolls in such conventional machines. Following modified structure in the portion of the wide range machine devoted to creasing of seal flaps and delivery of finished envelopes from the machine, whereby the process of envelope formation and delivery from the machine may take place at a much higher rate of speed than has heretofore been possible... In implementing this objective the pushers are altogether eliminated from the machine; a novel structure to accomplish the creasing operation in conjunction with the creasing rolls is provided; and a rotary delivery means is employed in place of the linear fabric belt and chains of the conventional wide- 'range 'machine. It will be appreciated that it is another object How these and many other objects are to be implemented will become clear through a consideration of the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 shows a schematic side view of a wide range envelope forming machine for purposes of locating the position therein where the improvements of the presentjirivention are located; I

FIG. 2 shows a plan view of an envelope;

FIG. 3 is a view of the seal flap creasing elements and finished envelope delivery elements in the wide range machine, the vantage point for such view being indicated by the line 3-3 in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a view of the opposite side of some of the same elements seen in FIGS taken at the line 4-4in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged side view of the same elements taken at 5-5 in FIG. 3, showing the creasing and delivery elements for delivery of finished envelopes with seal flaps folded; and

FIG. 6 is a view similar to that of FIG. 5 with drive gears, sprockets, and drive chains omitted for the sake of simplicity, and the structure modified for the delivery of envelopes from the wide range envelope forming machine with seal flaps extended, not folded.

In the ensuing description, the components which act upon the envelopes will be discussed under the heading Operative Elements, while the drive means therefor will be separately discussed under the heading Drive.

OPERATIVE ELEMENTS A wide range envelope forming machine 10 having housing sidewalls 10a is generally represented in FIG. 1 for purposes of orientation. The general position of the creasing and delivery means in the wide range machine, which are the subject of the present invention, may be seen in FIG. 1.

Envelopes'completely formed in all respects except that seal flap lle is in extended position and not'folded, (see FIG. 2 for depiction of single envelope in this condition) are moved by conveyer means 12 to rolls 13 and 13a. That is, prior to' reaching rolls 13 and 13a flat blanks of appropriate configuration have been folded to provide envelopesas seen in FIG. 2 with bottom flap- 11a and side flaps 11b and 11c folded over and glued. It will be understood that while the present discussion speaks in terms of,-and the illustrations show only a single envelope, in the actual operation of the envelope forming machine a continuous flow of envelopes is maintained throughout the machine and a continuous flow of envelopes is delivered therefrom. Conveyer means 12 and rolls 13 and 13a of this invention to make it possible to continue the utilization of the basically sound conventional wide range envelope forming machine, but improving such a machine by increasing its output capability. Envelope manufacturers will therefore enjoy the benefit of being able to continue to use existing equipment rather than being forced to replace such equipment with new machines. A very substantial saving is thus made possible for them. A further object herein is to provide novel means in the conventional wide range envelope forming machine whereby envelopes may be alternatively delivered from the machine with seal flaps unfolded, delivery in this fashion not being possible in such machines asheretofore known.

are found-in the unmodified machine (see FIG. 5). The components hereafter described, however, are substituted in place of the seal flap creasing and envelope delivery means provided in the original unmodified machine.

Envelope 11 passes between rolls l3 and 13a in such position that seal flap 1le passes through last. Such envelope then passes over deflector plate 14 which directs the envelope to spaced upper rolls l5 and 15a, and lower roll 16 (see FIGS. 4 and 5), the envelope being gripped between such rolls. Rolls 15 and 15a are of a resilient material such as rubber, while I prefer to use a knurled steel roll for roll 16. This combination of resilient rolls 15 and 15a, and metal roll 16 provides means for firmly gripping and transmitting envelopes without marking them. Deflector plate 14 is removably held in place upon supports 17 and 18 by means of screws 19.

After passing between rolls 15, 15a and 16, the envelope 11 moves bottom edge 11d foremost into chute 20, chute 20 being a channel formed between backplate 20a and overlying rigid strips 20b, such strips 20b being spaced from backplate 20a by spacers 21 which provides terminal walls 21a in chute 20. Backplate 20a, rigid strips 20b, and spacers 21 are all held in assembly by means ofbolts 20c and nuts 20d. Backplate 20a is supported upon blocks 202 and 20f which. in turn are secured to supplemental frame members 62 and 63. The distance from terminal walls 21a to roll 16 must be slightly less than the dimension from the bottom 11d of envelope 11 to score line 11f therein at the base of seal flap lle. Therefore such distance is adjustable, adjustability being achieved by providing keyways 21b within which bolts 20c and nuts 20d, upon being loosened may be slid up or down, then tightened, spacers 21 moving with such nuts and bolts when they are loosened and moved. Bottom 11d of the envelope 11 is fed by spaced rolls l and 15a, and 16 into chute 20 and ultimately comes into contact with terminal wall 21a. When this happens the envelope 11 can not be forced further into the chute 20. As rolls 15, 15a and 16 then continue to turn, the envelope will bend, and such bending will occur at score line 11f in the direction of the point of contact between roll 16 and roll 22. (See FIG. 5).

When envelope 11 has deformed far enough, it will be pinched between roll 16 and collars 22a and 22b on roll 22 at scoreline 11f and rotation of rolls 16 and 22 will serve to fold seal flap lle down over the body of the envelope. As rolls l6 and 22 continue to rotateinthe direction of the arrows seen in FIG. 5 so that envelope 11 is fed between them, the envelope 11 then will strike deflecting fingers 23 which guide the folded envelope into spiral wheels 26a, 26b and 260. (See FIGS. 3-

Roll 22 is chiefly of aluminum and has a pair of spaced rubber collars 22a and 22b thereon. During the seal flap creasing operation envelopes are gripped between rolls l6 and 22, except during the last portion of their passage, at which time such grip is released. Such release occurs because roll 22 has a fiat surface 220 thereon, collars 22a and 22b being flat at the appropriate location to conform to flat surface 22c. Reference was earlier made to the expedient employed in the conventional wide range envelope forming machine of separating the creasing rolls before each envelope completed its pass between such rolls in order to avoid damage to the envelopes due to compression of entrapped air therein. Flat surface 220 also provides such relief against compression of entrapped air in envelopes. When flat surface 22c is rotated to position opposite roll 16, the grip on an envelope between such two envelopes is released, and rotation of rolls is timed so that this occurs before air is compressed within an envelope to an extent that damage to the envelope is threatened.

Spaced spiral wheels 26a, 26b and 26c are mounted for rotation of shaft 27 and (referring to FIG. 5) rotate in a clockwise direction. Shaft 27 is supported by links 28 and 29 which are secured respectively to rods 30 and 31 bolted to the main frame of the machine. Envelopes are thrust into succeed ing arcuate slots 32 in such spiral wheels, there being corresponding slots in all three wheels which are in registry so that an envelope is simultaneously received in slots in all three wheels, and are rotatably conveyed by such spiral wheels towards table 33.

Extending from table 33 toward the machine, and positioned so that each is disposed between two spiral wheels is a pair of upwardly inclined stationary fingers 38 and 39. As an envelope is carried downwardly while resting in registered slots 32 of spiral wheels 26a, 26b and 26c, its path of travel will be intersected by said fingers 38 and 39. Such envelope will be lifted out of the slots 32 and slide down fingers 38 and 39 until they reach belts 42 and 43 which move along the top of table 33 in a direction away from the machine. The envelopes are delivered in a vertical position (see FIG. 5) and are so maintained by means of support 44 which sits atop and moves with belts 42 and 43. Accumulated envelopes are removed from the table 33 by an attendant and packed.

It is also possible to operate the modified envelope machine so that envelopes are delivered to the delivery table 33 with seal flaps lle extended. How this is carried out may be seen in FIG. 6. Elements seen in FIG. 6, to the extent that they are the same as those seen in FIG. 5 are identified by the same index numbers as those used in FIG. 5. Apart from the omission of chute 20 and associated creasing elements, the major difference between the apparatus of FIG. 6 and that of FIG. 5 is that deflector plate 14 (FIG. 5) is replaced by extended flap deflector plate 47 (FIG. 6) mounted as was deflector plate 14 on supports 17 and 18 by means of bolts 19.

With extendedflap deflector plate 47 in place, envelopes fed by conveyer belt 12 to rolls 13, 13a upon emerging from such rolls pass beneath deflector plate 47 and are deflected downwardly directly to the arcuate slots 32 in spiral wheels 26a, 26b and 260. The spiral wheels carry envelopes downwardly to table 33, envelopes being picked out of armate slots 32 by fingers 38 and 39, such envelopes moving then to the top of table 33, being carried away from the machine along such table top by belts 42 and 43. It will be understood that while the chute 20 and associated rolls 15, 16 and 22 are omitted in FIG. 6, this is for the reason that they do not operate when envelopes are delivered with seal flaps extended, though they may be left in place for convenience when the machine is operated in this mode.

DRIVE In the ensuing description of elements of the drive train, the elements referred to are shown in FIG. 5. It will be understood that such elements are omitted in part or entirely from other FIGS. because they are not necessary to understand such other FIGS. and their omission simplifies and clarifies such other FIGS.

The entire wide range envelope forming machine 10 is driven by an electric motor which is not shown. There is a takeoff shaft from the motor and such shaft in turn furnishes the drive for all parts of the machine. As was indicated earlier, rolls l3 and 13a shown in FIG. 5 are present in the machine I0 as unmodified. Gear 50 is also present in the original unmodified machine and it is this gear which drives roll 130. Gear 50 also furnishes the drive, through a series of intermediate gears (see FIG. 5) to rolls 22 and 16. Thus, because gear 50 meshes with gear 51, rotation of gear 50 causes gear 51 to rotate. Gear 51 then drives gear 52, and gear 52 drives gear 53. Gear 54 is mounted upon the same shaft, shaft 55. as that upon which roll 22 is mounted. Gear 53 drives gear 54, and thereby rotation of roll 22 is caused.

Gear 60 is mounted on shaft 61, the same shaft as that upon which roll 16 is mounted and gear 60 meshes with gear 54. Rotation of gear 54 then causes rotation of gear 60 to drive roll 16.

While roll 13a and gear 50 are supported by the frame of the original unmodified envelope forming machine, the remaining gears referred to, gears 51, 52, 53. 54 and 60 are supported upon supplemental frame member 62. Rolls 16 and 22 upon shafts 61 and 55 respectively are supported between such supplemental frame member 62 and a second supplemental frame member 63, both such supplemental frame members being in turn supported upon the sidewalls 10a of the original machine in conventional manner by being bolted thereto. Because mounting of the supplemental frame members to sidewalls 10a is conventional and would be obvious to those skilled in the art, it has not been deemed necessary that such mounting be illustrated in the drawings.

A chain drive is employed for shaft 27 upon which spiral wheels 26a, 26b and 26c are mounted for rotation, and the means for motivating such chain drive will now be described. Sprocket wheel 67 on shaft 68 drives a larger sprocket wheel 69 on shaft 70 by means of link chain 71. A second sprocket wheel 72 is also mounted on shaft 70 for rotation therewith and by means of link chain 73 drives sprocket wheel 74 mounted upon shaft 27 to cause rotation thereof.

Because there is a single motor from which all drives within the envelope forming machine 10 are derived, the relative timing of movement of various components within the machine may be readily determined. For example, each time that an envelope is expelled from between rolls 16 and 22, an arcuate slot 32 in the spiral wheels 26a, 26b and 260 should be in position to receive it. Coordinating the motion of the spiral wheels and the rate of delivery of envelopes from between rolls l6 and 22 is a matter which may readily be provided by adjusting the various drives so that shaft 27 upon which said spiral wheels are mounted rotates sufficiently to present a succeeding arcuate slot 32 for each full rotation of shaft 68, and also each full rotation of shaft 61 which carries roll 16. Timing and coordination of operative elements are matters which will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

While 1 have described a specific embodiment of my invention it is apparent that changes and modifications may be made therein, and though so changed or modified a structure may still fall within the ambit of my invention.

I claim:

1. In a machine for forming envelopes, each having a body and a seal flap extending therefrom, from a flat blank, said machine including a delivery table to which completed envelopes having free seal flaps may be delivered:

spiral wheel means for delivering finished envelopes to said delivery table;

conveyor and roll means for conducting formed envelopes toward said spiral wheel means; and

support means capable of supporting either first deflector means to conduct said envelopes to means for folding said frcc seal flaps prior to delivery to said spiral wheel means, or second deflector means to conduct said envelopes to said spiral wheel means with seal flaps extended.

2. in a machine for forming envelopes, each having a body and a seal flap extending therefrom, from a flat blank, said machine including a delivery table to which completed envelopes having free seal flaps may be delivered, the combination of:

spiral wheel means for delivering finished envelopes to said delivery table;

an envelope receiving chute;

first roll means for driving envelopes into said chute;

second roll means for simultaneously withdrawing envelopes from said chute, folding said'seal flaps, and driving said envelopes toward said spiral wheel means; feed means for conducting envelopes to said first roll means;

deflector means removably mounted on support means in said machine for guiding envelopes in said machine while envelopes are being manufactured and delivered therein; and

support means in said machine for said deflector means.

' 3. The machine claimed in claim 2 wherein said deflector means is removable fromsaid support means and may be replaced by second deflector means capable of guiding envelopes directly from said feed means to said spiral wheel means for delivery to said delivery table with seal flaps extended.

4. The combination claimed in claim 2 wherein said feed means comprises conveyor means and a pair of rolls for conducting envelopes to said first roll means along a horizontal path, said first roll means is situated above said horizontal path, said delivery table is substantially horizontally disposed and wherein envelopes leaving said second roll means do so in substantially vertical disposition, said deflector means comprising:

a deflector plate portion disposed adjacent said pair of rolls below said horizontal path, said deflector plate portion inclining upwardly away from said pair of rolls, whereby an envelope being formed will be guided from said pair of rolls to said first roll means; and

a deflector finger portion disposed below said second roll means, said deflector finger portion being directed in substantially the same direction as a portion of an arcuate slot in said spiral wheel means whereby envelopes upon emerging from said second roll means will be guided into an arcuate slot of said spiral wheel means.

5.The combination claimed in claim 4 including: stationary fingers extending upwardly from said delivery table to intersect the path of travel of an envelope carried within a slot in said spiral wheel means whereby such envelope will be lifted out of said spiral wheel and conducted to said delivery table. 

